How do you make loose leaf tea?

05/12/25 5:19pm

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Nicole Wilson, tea expert, says for the best-tasting loose leaf tea, use fresh, filtered water heated to the correct temperature for the specific tea. She recommends using an infuser basket so you can easily remove the leaves after brewing to prevent bitterness from over-extraction. She says loose-leaf tea offers greater control over tea strength and is often higher quality than tea bags.

Steve Schwartz
Master Tea Blender and Founder of Art of Tea

06/12/25 11:14pm

The word ‘teaspoon’ was actually created for how much tea you should put inside your cup. You would basically take one teaspoon of dried leaf. If it's a small leaf, use a regular size teaspoon. If it's a large botanical, you use a heaping teaspoon per cup. When we say "per cup", that refers to about 8-10 ounces of liquid.

There are multiple ways to steep tea. First, you can use a steeping device. Second, you can use a filter. I've actually created our own filter bags through my business, Art of Tea. We have our own patented design where you put the tea inside and you cinch the filter and you get the best of both worlds– both a loose-leaf tea and a tea bag.

Another question that might come up is how much tea to steep to make a full pot. For example, if it's a three-cup pot, then you put one teaspoon per cup and one for the pot. In other words, you put four teaspoons in it all together and you want to give enough room. Then, when it's time to pour the tea you can pour the liquid through a strainer, like the stainless steel ones my business sells. The key is that you want to make sure the leaves have enough room to expand in the pot. They go through this process called the "agony of the leaf" where the leaves unfurl and unfold, which delivers a much more aromatic, rich, full cup with all those amino acids coming through. Ensuring that there's enough room in the filter will deliver that great taste experience that you're looking for.

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Melissa Salazar
Certified Tea Master and Blend Specialist

06/13/25 12:05am

To steep loose leaf tea, you'll measure about one teaspoon for every six to eight ounces of water, but if it's a tea with a larger leaf, like a white tea, then you may need around two teaspoons for ever six to eight ounces of water. I recommend using spring water when brewing tea. You will then steep the tea for the allotted amount of time for that particular type of tea. For example if it's a green tea, that may be one to two minutes. These data points can all be found on the International Tea Master Scale.

Another important point is that different tea types steep best at different temperatures. Here's an overview of the ideal temperature for each major tea type:

Black tea: 200 to 205 degrees Fahrenheit
Oolong: 180 to 190 degrees Fahrenheit
Green tea: 165 to 175 degrees Fahrenheit
White tea: 180 to 185 degrees Fahrenheit
Matcha: 150 to 165 degrees Fahrenheit